Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We got a lot of questions this week, and you all really went off in the comments about some off-topic music stuff. I love it. Let’s dive right in to all your questions!
Bruce Guild: Going out on a limb with some preseason guesses on who will be selected to this years Pro Bowl team.
Horn, Brown, and yes Bryce Young
Who am I missing?
What percentage would you say BY has a chance at the selection?
The Pro Bowl is a very fickle beast. These days there’s so many alternates that get named and players dipping out in the playoffs that it no longer carries the same distinction it did 15ish years ago. But I will give it a whirl.
I could see Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn being named to the Pro Bowl even if our worst fears are realized and the Panthers suck again in 2025. I’d give Bryce Young a 35% chance of being selected to the Pro Bowl on the first ballot, though he could make it as an alternate, if we’re just going off of what he accomplished in 2024. If he continues to make significant strides forward, he might make it as the 3rd guy on the first round of ballots.
Robert Hunt, Taylor Moton, and Chuba Hubbard could also make it if the Panthers find themselves in playoff territory. It’s a shame Pro Bowl selections often come based on the success of the team around them.
@WTMealey: Is it me or is the DM the GM relationship with Canales have a different feel than Hurney/Fox or Gettleman/Rivera? Like they seem to genuinely like each other where in other eras it seemed maybe there was some respect, but mostly they just tolerated each other? In fact lets include Tillis and the trio seems to all honor each others expertise and agree philosophically how to build a long term successful franchise.
Compare this iteration to the others please.
No, it isn’t just you. This iteration of the Panthers coaching/front office is very different. Marty Hurney and John Fox were a much older guard, and Ron Rivera came in as the Panthers head coach with Hurney still in power as GM. Dave Gettleman came along as GM, but he never got a chance to hire someone other than Rivera as his head coach. I don’t know how much that would have mattered, as his GM career didn’t exactly skyrocket after going elsewhere.
I think this iteration of the Panthers GM/Head Coaching group is different in that its the first time in a long while the Panthers started from the foundation and built it up, and the owner didn’t get involved and make any sweeping decisions. If you all remember, when Scott Fitterer was fired, and then the Panthers decided to hire from within and promote Dan Morgan to General Manager, I preached to be patient. That isn’t to say fans concerns about the prior regime and hence the promotion of Dan Morgan (who also was part of the prior regime) weren’t unwarranted, but Morgan wasn’t exactly walking into a role he wasn’t supposed to get at some point.
Between his time in Seattle and Buffalo as a front office figure, and then the subsequent experience as “GM adjacent” he got in Carolina, his time was coming, and I think the way things ultimately progressed is exactly what you want in hindsight. The Panthers got their GM, an up and coming commodity, and paired him with someone they heavily vetted, also someone they heavily vetted with their new GM very much in the drivers seat, in Dave Canales as head coach. I think for the first time in quite awhile, the Panthers started from the bottom and built up the foundation for their front office and head coach, and the two are very much in lockstep. We’ll see if it lasts, as we’re only into year two of the experiment, but in hindsight, they got two guys who were very much on their way to bigger and better things in the NFL, whether it was with the Panthers or somewhere else.
Senanima: I got Coker for 5.6 TDs and being sneaky good between the focus on XL and TMac. Yeah or nah?
I don’t have Coker getting 5+ TDs in my current odds, but that’s mainly because he excels as a slot guy. The Panthers will definitely be bringing back Adam Thielen in 2025, and all signs point to Hunter Renfrow being another guy to eat up those targets. I think if Coker does get 5+ TDs, it will be because of his own merit, and not because of Xavier Legette and Tetairoa McMillan. That would mean he found his way into the rotation regardless of the slot role being a heavily contested area.
LouWillVille: Can you rank the Panthers away games this season in order or which ones you’d most like to go to?
I’d say Green Bay, San Francisco, and New Orleans would be my picks (in no particular order). I’ve never been to these cities and I’d like to make the time at some point. Probably won’t be 2025 though!
TXPanther: The Panthers RB room is ranked 22nd on this list. Where would you rank them for next season?
I think 22 is too low just because you have Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle, both 1k rushers in 2024, in the same backfield. Still, there’s a ton of really deep running back rooms that have been proven to work together in the NFL. Until I see how the Panthers use Dowdle and 2025 4th rounder Trevor Etienne, I think 12-15ish would be a fair ranking, and that might even be being somewhat of a homer.
positivebob: How optimistic are you about the defense? The dline will be better just getting Brown back and I’ve got high hopes for Scourton. But I don’t expect much from Jones, Wharton or Wonnum coming from Flores blitz heavy defense, and the rest look like ok depth players, but not quality starters. LBs look just ok. Rozeboom will help and they might be ok against the run, but can these guys cover TEs and RBs on pass plays? The secondary looks ordinary, at best, and very thin. I think Horn is good, not great, and the more snaps he plays the worse he seems to play. Maybe he just wasn’t used to being on the field that much. Beyond Horn, Jackson-good, not great player-and maybe Moehrig, there are a lot more questions than answers on the back end. I think the defense will be better, but still could end up in the bottom 3rd. Too pessimistic?
I’m still maintaining healthy skepticism about this defense, so thinking they could be in the bottom 3rd of the league isn’t outside the realm of possibility in my opinion. However, the front office did throw a ton of money and resources at the defense in 2025, much like they did with the offensive line in 2024. I would think DC Ejiro Evero was very involved in many of those moves. The mark of a good defensive coordinator is making the pieces you have excel within your scheme, something he DID do in Denver prior to coming to Carolina. I think bottom 3rd with improvement from bottom two defenses is a reasonable floor, but I am not writing off an improvement closer to the top 15-16 defense if the pieces fall the way they should, especially along the defensive line. How they deploy their new pieces on the front seven is something I am especially monitoring in the preseason and training camp.
TurfMunster: Would you rather keep the current schedule model of playing division foes twice a year? Or only play them once a year to be able to okay 3 different teams each season?
I think the current model is fine in the sense that most divisions aren’t really completely wrapped up until late in the season. But if they made a change to it I wouldn’t really protest particularly hard.
dayneb12: How many UDFAs make the 53-man roster?
Ask me again during training camp. Hard to say what UDFAs will make the roster when they haven’t really been scrapping with the first team and/or other teams in the preseason. Good question though!
ALLSTATSANDNOPLAY: So, there seems to be a trend on social media where people talk about how great the band “Creed” is. And how people only pretend to not like them.
They actually suck right? I thought we were all on the same page. No pretending. They are garbage. I mean, people make fun of Nickelback ….. but they are actually better than Creed.
Is this trend some kind of prank? Mandela Effect?
Scott Stapp is a legend. We could only wish to have him sing a GameDay war song like he has for the Miami Marlins.
I think the Creed love comes with nostalgia. But as an avid (and GREAT) singer in Rock Band to this day, Creed will always have a place in my heart. And Nickelback also joins that same crowd of songs where we’re singing them with friends. Maybe its not about whether one is better than the other. Maybe its My Own Prison that they continue to be a part of my life.
schrodingersblackcat: Been catching a lot of minor league baseball lately. I’m always entertained by the walk up songs the players pick to play as they approach the plate. So keeping with the musical theme that has emerged on this thread, what would you pick for your personal walk up song?
Spiritbox – Jaded. That song just hits so hard.
That’s all we got this week, Panthers fans! Join us next week for another round of questions, both off and on topic!